The Value of Life
by Ariel D
Summary: A simple evening between Yondaime and Karura. Fluff. Part III: on Gaara.
1. Our First Child

**The Value of Life**

Ariel-D

_Description: A simple evening between Yondaime and Karura. Fluff._

_Disclaimer: Yondaime, Karura, and the Naruto-verse are copyrighted by Masashi Kishimoto and Weekly Shonen Jump. I am making no profit; this is just for fun._

_A/N: Pre-series. I chose Hirohiko as the name for Yondaime Kazekage._

* * *

Some days Yondaime Kazekage, known to his family and friends as Hirohiko, thought his job was killing him. He'd been elected Kazekage after an extensive search for his uncle, Sandaime, who had vanished mysteriously. Upon election, Hirohiko had inherited an economic nightmare: Suna's struggling economy in the face of Konoha's stealing their missions by underselling them.

He'd been Kazekage for a year now, and already pulling himself out of his wife's arms at 5:00 every morning had turned into a nearly impossible task. He got his work done at the office, but he did so under the secret promise to himself that at 7:00 he'd be back home to have dinner with Karura. Then he could spend the evening curled up with her on the couch, holding her closely as they watched TV.

More than once he'd wished he hadn't accepted the position of Kazekage. He'd learned quickly that terrible, hard calls had to be made constantly, calls that could save lives, calls that could end lives. He'd learned the pressure of the Council bearing down on him, demanding strategies and solutions. He'd learned that the safety and well-being of an entire village now rested on his shoulders. However, as his uncle's only possible successor — the one also gifted with magnet release — Hirohiko had seen it as his duty to take on the mantel.

And now having a well-paying job in a lagging economy was more important than ever: Karura was pregnant.

On this particular day, 7:15 found Hirohiko stumbling through the door and slipping off his sandals. Supper with Karura was next, just as he'd been promising himself all day. He stepped into the living room and found Karura on the couch, a tray of tea sitting on the kotatsu table in front of her. Her hands were resting on her swollen stomach. She grinned at him, and he fell in love with her all over again. A simple smile from his wife was enough to assure him that, at least for the next few hours at home, everything would be quiet, calm, and filled with love.

"The baby is kicking," Karura said. "Would you like to feel?"

Hirohiko rushed across the room, kneeling in front of the couch and placing his hand where Karura directed him to. Sure enough, he could feel the movement against his palm. Exhausted as he was, he still smiled up at her. The wonder and awe he felt that they had created a new life together was not one he could put into words. "It's amazing," he whispered simply.

With a widening smile, Karura nodded. "Proof of our love," she added.

Overcome by that sentiment, Hirohiko gently laid his head against her stomach. She reached up with one hand and caressed his auburn hair, smoothing it down slightly.

"Another hard day?" she asked softly.

"Iwa's getting restless again," Hirohiko replied, closing his eyes and soaking in her care. He had found and married the perfect woman. He still felt so after two years of marriage. She had a powerful will, courageous heart, and deep love.

"Again?" Karura sighed. "Will we ever not be at war with them?"

Hirohiko snorted faintly. "Sometimes I doubt it."

Karura rested her free hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, love."

Not just for him, Hirohiko knew. Karura was bothered also by the number of Suna lives that had been lost in the battles with Iwa. However, for right now Hirohiko wasn't going to think about that. He was going to focus on his loving wife and their first child.

"Have you found names you like yet?" he asked, purposefully changing the subject. Karura was having fun researching names in baby name books.

"I did," Karura said. Hirohiko could hear the happiness return to her voice. "I think that if it's a girl, we should name her Temari. And if it's a boy, we should name him Kankuro."

"Temari and Kankuro," Hirohiko repeated, letting the names roll off his tongue. "They're both wonderful names." He was predisposed to agree with whatever she came up with, but he genuinely approved of the choices.

"I'm glad you like them," Karura said, the lilt in her voice conveying her pleasure. She paused. "Do you hope it's a boy?"

The question she had yet to ask him. Hirohiko shook his head faintly and smiled. "I was rather hoping we could have one of each. The order doesn't matter."

"How's four sound?" Karura asked.

Hirohiko already knew his wife wanted a large family. He'd been an only child, and that was precisely why he didn't mind. "Four sounds fine by me." He imagined three toddlers and one baby. "Just not all clustered together, please."

Karura laughed. "Well, that's up to us and our activities, isn't it?"

Hirohiko blushed a bit and chuckled. "I suppose it is."

And there it was: moments like these got Hirohiko through every night so that he could get through each day. He hoped one day he would adjust better to his job and be surrounded by his loving wife and four loving children. That life would have the greatest value, indeed.

It was fortunate, then, that Hirohiko could not know the future.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry I've been gone so long. This is all I can offer up for now, though. I'm still . . . Well, things have been rough._

_Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing my other stories and who reviews this story._


	2. The Anniversary Baby

_A/N: More Yondaime/Karura fluff._

* * *

**II: The Anniversary Baby**

Once again, 7:15 found Hirohiko returning from work. Karura was sitting at the kotatsu table, looking through an album of Temari's baby pictures. Temari was in a playpen in the corner. After greeting his wife, Hirohiko went over to Temari, picking her up and holding her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she giggled.

"Did she pass a good day?" Hirohiko asked.

"Wonderful," Karura assured him. She was on maternity leave and would be for another month.

Hirohiko smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." He put Temari back in her playpen and then settled at the table beside Karura, looking over her shoulder.

"Good evening, dear," she said, greeting him all over again. She smiled without looking up. "How was work?"

The cliché and repetitive nature of this question immediately had Hirohiko suspicious. Not that his wife didn't care how his work went, only that she usually didn't greet him that way. She only did that when . . . "What's up?"

Karura laughed. "Now what makes you think that something is up?"

Smiling at her, Hirohiko tilted his head, entering into the playfulness. "Well, dear, because of the way you greeted me. The last time you did that, you'd accidentally dropped my grandmother's antique serving plate and broken it. You thought I'd be upset." He'd only been concerned with whether she'd cut herself cleaning up the mess.

At least this time Karura didn't seem uneasy. Far from it, really.

Karura slanted him a wicked smile. "Oh, I just thought I'd see how your day went before I gave you the result of our nocturnal activities."

"Our what?" Hirohiko took a moment to catch on, then blushed. "Wait . . . are you saying you're late?"

Karura nodded. "I went to the doctor today and had them give me a pregnancy test to be sure. And . . . I'm pregnant!"

"That's wonderful!" Hirohiko scooped her into a hug, wrapping his arms tight around her and holding her closely. Karura ran her arms around his waist, hugging him just as tightly. For several minutes they remained that way, then he was hit by a sobering realization: they'd have two in diapers at once. "Oh. That's a lot of diapers."

Karura just laughed. "We can manage it."

Hirohiko certainly hoped so. "When are you due?" he asked.

Karura smiled. "May 23."

Hirohiko did the mental math, then felt a matching smile spreading across his face. "Ah, our anniversary baby." Apparently their night of passion on their wedding anniversary was going to leave them with a permanent present.

"Yes. I counted it up, too," Karura said. "An anniversary baby! That's romantic, don't you think?"

Nodding, Hirohiko pulled her back into his arms. "Yes, I do."

She gave him another hug, then after several moments, they transferred to the couch, where Hirohiko leaned against the couch arm and spread his legs for Karura to sit between. She reclined on his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. "Two of four," she teased.

"Does that mean you want a boy this time?" Hirohiko asked.

Karura nodded. "That would be perfect. And we should definitely name him Kankuro."

Hirohiko had yet to ask her if she would spell "Kankuro" with the kanji for "Gentle Ninth Son" or "Intuitive Ninth Son." For Temari, she had used the kanji 天万理, which meant "Sky of Myriad Logic." Already, their daughter did strike Hirohiko as a little schemer. Very intelligent. Of course, if they had a son, it wouldn't be their ninth, but the name referred to the ninth generation in Karura's family to have "Kan" or "Yuu" in their names. This included Yashamaru, whose real name wasn't Yashamaru. His ANBU name was Yashamaru, and everyone called him by it currently, including Karura.

Karura enjoyed name games. She was already cooking up names for their third and fourth children. Gaara was the name for the second son, and that one gave Hirohiko a headache. It could mean "Self-Loving Carnage," which made no sense to Hirohiko, or it could mean "Love is My Compass." She was considering Sumiko, with the kanji for "Clear Thinking Child" for their second daughter.

Hirohiko pulled himself out of the reverie on names. "Yes, I think Kankuro is an excellent name."

Karura smiled and snuggled up to him. "Are you hungry? Would you like supper now?"

Running his arms tight around her, Hirohiko shook his head. "I think I'd rather stay right like this for a moment, just holding you."

Karura rested her arms on top of his, aligning her hands with his, and gave one of his hands a squeeze. "Sounds perfect."

"You are my life," he whispered to her, kissing her temple. It was true. He wasn't sure how he'd make it through each day if Karura wasn't there to welcome him back home. Once she went back on duty, he was considering talking to her about taking a desk job to reduce the danger — both for his sake and the children's.

"You are my light," she whispered back. It was their personal way of saying "I love you" at times.

Hirohiko took comfort in her love and what their love was now bringing them: a second child. It was the value of life, so Hirohiko prayed for a safe pregnancy and delivery for his wife and second child.

He couldn't face anything else.

* * *

_A/N: Gaara's up next. Thank you to everyone for the reviews!_


	3. The Experiment

**III: The Experiment**

The Experiment Child was not an experiment at all. Karura did not believe in making love in order to make experimental babies, and Hirohiko did not, either. Even if he had, he would have met a very even match in his wife's determination and temper. Temari did not inherit her willpower and boldness from the sky; she got it from her mother.

Gaara, when he was conceived, was conceived out of love, just like his siblings.

The Council, Hirohiko, Karura, and Chiyo all ended up involved in the discussion of whether Gaara would be a jinchuuriki. As the mother and a jonin, Karura was not excluded from those talks. She wasn't some powerless woman, some passing civilian, some passive victim of Suna's evil. She was the Kazekage's wife and a seated member of the Council, along with Yashamaru.

In the end, the decision would be told as "Chiyo tried to warn off Yondaime, and he wouldn't listen. So she sealed Shukaku into Gaara." This compacted three months and 13 people down into a single condemnation — one that most definitely counted out Karura. In a village where women like Chiyo grew to be the most honored elders, the jonin wife of the Kazekage was not a spineless, voiceless sacrifice.

In fact, her true power extended beyond her death, protecting her premature baby's life.

Just as Hirohiko, who genuinely loved his wife, never stopped blaming himself for his wife's death. It was a wound on his heart that could never receive any medicine because Karura wasn't there to give it. In fact, it took Gaara to offer any salve, a salve strong enough to make his father weep.

But before Edo Tensei, before Shukaku's rampages, before the sealing ceremony, there was only a simple couple with a simple family.

Late at night, Hirohiko held Karura in bed, spooning her, his arm around her waist and his hand resting gently on her swollen stomach. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. She glanced back at him and smiled.

"Are you afraid?" he asked. All the talk of the village's failing economy had come and gone; all the pros and cons of jinchuuriki had been examined and argued. Excessive pressures had been applied in all directions. And in the middle of the night, there was only a husband worried about his pregnant wife.

"I'm a bit nervous," Karura answered honestly. She never failed to say exactly what she thought, just as her daughter would when she grew up.

Hirohiko rubbed her tummy tenderly. "Chiyo-sama is the best." It was all he could offer; he was scared. Scared for his wife and scared for his third child. Right or wrong, yes or no, the answer or more of the problem, it didn't matter — the idea that Karura or his unborn child could be hurt in this process terrified him. _What if the baby died? What if Karura died? _That was a hell he couldn't even face thinking about.

Rolling over carefully, Karura put her arms around Hirohiko as well. "Let's not worry about it, okay? Let's just let it go. Tomorrow it will be done, over. And then we can focus on preparing our household for our third child." She grinned at him impishly. "And discuss that fourth child."

"Good Lord, Karura," Hirohiko groaned. "We'll have two toddlers and an infant. Let's give ourselves a break." But he knew she was only teasing.

Karura laughed. "Well, we could have twins next time. Two for the price of one."

Hirohiko groaned again, then kissed her on the forehead. "If you want twins, we have to at least wait five years."

"Oh? Okay. But I'm thinking now maybe we could have a dozen." Karura grinned, unabashed.

This time Hirohiko had to laugh. "A dozen? A dozen little Hirohikos and Karuras running around? I don't think the world could handle it. Temari's already taking flying leaps off the couch in order to tackle her brother, and Kankuro is already asking for things like cat-shaped birthday cakes. You want ten more?"

Karura chuckled. "Okay, you have a point. We'll stick to four. But as long as you love me, I don't care how many children we have together."

That made Hirohiko smile. He leaned forward, brushing his lips over Karura's, and she met his lips in a kiss, gently mouthing.

They held each other through the night. Usually, they slept spooned, either with Hirohiko behind Karura or Karura behind Hirohiko. Even if they became hot or uncomfortable, they usually managed to still touch — a hand on an arm, a hand on a thigh. Even when asleep, they showed each other love.

A love powerful enough to protect a premature baby unto adulthood, and a love powerful enough to put two souls to rest sixteen years later.

* * *

_A/N: "Mother was wonderful. She gave me the medicine that you gave her to give me." — Gaara to Yondaime, ch. 548, VIZ translation._

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed parts 1 and 2, and thank you to everyone who reviews part 3!_


End file.
